


Tree of Light

by Miki_13



Series: Belos is Human AU [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Belos is Human AU, Gen, Mentions of WWII, Origin Story, very sparse tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:41:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26148082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miki_13/pseuds/Miki_13
Summary: She was the Titan. The Isles were her and she was the Isles.And she divided time in two segments: the time where all could hear her if they cared to listen... and then the time he came.
Relationships: Belos & The Titan, The Titan & Luz Noceda
Series: Belos is Human AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901113
Comments: 5
Kudos: 101





	Tree of Light

She as the Titan. The Isles were her and she was the Isles.

Witches and Demons danced upon, made homes and survived in the caverns of her body and she welcomed them. For they were hers and she was theirs. Though there was death and pain, there was life and joy.

She spoke to all who cared to listen, who took the time and thought to understand her. And those who did both would eventually return to the isles and to her heart.

* * *

When she first saw him, she did not know what to think.

How long had it been since she had seen a human, much less a human child? Hair black as night and eyes like leaves, with clothes that were unlike any she had seen before.

He asked if he were in hell, fearful for sins she did not know and of gods and rules that she did not know of nor care for. Though this was not hell, he could in time to wish he was there in due time.

She had been as shocked as the boy that he had understood her. How long had it been since there had been those who could hear her words so clearly? And by a human no less!

But gazing upon this human, how alone, fragile and frightened he was… yet his eyes shone with an earnest awe and curiosity that she had not seen in many years. Was that why he could understand her so clearly?

“ _It’s very nice to meet you,_ signora. _My name is Uri Baum."_

* * *

Over the weeks that followed, she watched over the human as he slowly but surely grew used to the isles. She showed him how to gather food, make shelter and defend himself.

Despite his fear before, the human soon adapted to the isles with an energy that she did not expect. Though there were times when his curiosity and naive overconfidence would get him in trouble, she did her best to protect him.

“ _To think magic really exists! This is everything I’ve ever dreamed of!”_

When she began to speak to him proper, the human had shrieked in both shock and amazement, loud enough to scare away several flocks of Griffins from beyond the woods. If she thought the human was adaptable before, he shocked her with how he threw himself into hearing her voice and learning to use her gift.

The joy of discovery, the hunger to learn more and the sheer awe he displayed made her heart warm with fondness for the boy.

When he asked for her name, she simply gestured to the isles themselves. She was the Titan of the isles and the isles were her. The boy spoke of a story from his world, of a mother of titans who helped her son overthrow a cruel father. He asked if he could refer to her as that name, just for himself.

She was the Titan… but she did not mind being called “Rhea”.

* * *

The times when the two simply talked of everything and nothing were her favorite times. Uri the human was an attentive and active listener and took everything in she said- even her jokes and sarcasm- and responded just as enthusiastically of stories of his own world’s mythologies and stories, eyes shinning like stars.

… then there were times when Uri the human spoke of his home, and that light faded and left resignation and tiredness in it’s wake.

A world of great cities and things called “electricity” and “machines”. A world of wonders and medicines that could save many lives and improve others.

A world where all were made to conform and those who were seen as “different” were shunned. A world where he had been ostracized for his love of reading, writing and drawing, for not enjoying the outdoors and games as other boys his age. A world that scorned his gentle and timid personality, that would force him to go against his very nature.

A world that had begun to hurt and persecute people like him for something that was as integral to them as was his self.

His father had never taken kindly to his introverted nature nor his preferring books to people. When the time came for them to move due to rising tensions against those like him, the boy’s father enrolled him within a certain school. One that would have “made a man of him”.

Uri had fallen into the Isles just minutes after his father left him at the station.

He would cry some nights. He missed his home and father deeply but still felt so much relief at being separated from both. She moved the least rotten finger she had and cradled the boy, rocking him to sleep. Despite the rot, he clung to her with everything he had.

“ _Thank you… for everything,_ ma- _Rhea._ _”_

She was the Titan… and she did not mind being called “mother”.

* * *

Uri grew awkwardly, but he nonetheless grew. Yet she was still surprised when he decided to leave and explore the island.

“ _I want to see the rest of this world, beyond the woods. I know that I am not very common here and that it is dangerous, but I can’t stay beside you forever.”_

How long had it been since her heart ached like this, seeing this boy leave her side? Yet she knew that this was for the best, for them both. Her finger reached out and gently tilted his chin up, eyes like leaves shimmering with light and water both.

And he left, leaving behind nothing but a promise.

“ _I will_ _always keep you in my heart.”_

* * *

She was the Titan. The Isles were her and she was the Isles. Therefore, she could keep an eye on Uri if she were to wish it.

She watched him do his best to communicate with the demons and witches, even as he was gawked at or some tried to eat him. Every time he was thrown aside, attacked or sneered at, Uri never lost heart. Each night, he drew and sent her a sign, promising he wouldn’t give up with an earnest smile, that she was in his heart.

Little by little, he carved his place among the demons and witches. Took care of those who were hurt, those who were on the fringes. Showed them not just his own magic, but his knowledge from his world. He won so many over and her heart warmed at seeing Uri surrounded by those who cared for him.

She did not know when it went wrong.

Little by little, Uri integrated further and her people flocked around him to hear him speak, impart knowledge. And with each passing day, Uri’s smiles and words never changed… but slowly, surely, he no longer spoke to her.

That in itself was not unusual. He promised she was in his heart and she knew that hadn’t changed.

What made her heart chill was that it was becoming harder for Uri to hear her. Little by little, his heart was closing off to her.

And it wasn’t just the connection with Uri that suffered. Little by little, the witches and demons were harder to reach as they began to use the magic Uri had assured them would honor her.

He promised that these ways would help people, but all that she could see was growing disdain for anything that was not “the proper way”, feeding and growing cynicism and cruelty. This couldn’t be what Uri had wanted to bring about! How could he still smile with this happening because of his actions?

Where was the Uri she knew? The boy who only wanted to learn, who was so gentle? When did he grow into this?

She could not bear to see him, could not bear to see what he was doing to her and her people.

* * *

Uri returned to her. Disheveled and bruised, with eyes that shone with desperation. He spoke of how “his “magic had vanished. No matter how he wrote or drew the signs, he could no longer use “his magic”.

He begged her to listen to him, to restore “his magic”. Spoke of how so many were counting on him and that he could not let them down. Spoke of how he had so many plans to shape the isles, and bring forth a new age. Spoke of how he couldn’t bear to return to the person he was before he gained “his magic”.

“ _Rhea, please! Please don’t shut me out! Please give me back my magic! Why did you take_ _my magic_ _from me?! What have I done wrong?! Please, just tell me and I’ll listen! I’ll do as you say, just please give me back my magic!”_

The boy who had been able to hear her words and see her intent so clearly had become a deaf and blind man.

His words and voice became bitter, dark and furious. He screamed and ranted and raged at her. Tore her heart open with words. Then he would fall back into grief and repentance as he begged her for forgiveness, promising to do better… and the cycle continued.

Finally, he left. She felt numb.

* * *

She was the Titan. The Isles were her and she was the Isles.

Even if she could no longer see or feel him, she knew that humans did not live long. She mourned him, mourned her people, mourned what she had lost.

Then they came. Swathes of white cloaks and golden emblems of swords and wings. Twisted beak-like masks and empty eyes. Led by a witch of gold and white with a mask of antlers and eyes that reflected nothing, whom they called Belos.

They tore open her chest, pried her ribcage apart, affixed metal and stone to keep it open. Her heart was exposed and surrounded in stone, a throne built before her.

The one named Belos stood before her heart. The stone shook and shuddered around them. But she heard his words clearly.

“ _I once promised that I would keep you in my heart… and now, I will never leave yours.”_

She screamed. No one heard her.

* * *

She was the Titan. The Isles were her and she was the Isles. 

She had gazed upon her people for thousands of years. Yet the mere fifty that passed was as long as an age.

Uri- no- _Belos_ , was true to his word. Her heart was entwined with his, twisted pipes connecting them to each other, their hearts beating as one.

When even his health began to fail him (for he was far older than any human had a right to be at this point), he ripped the magic from others in the vilest way imaginable.

She wept for the witches and demons that were brought before him, ripped from their familiars and Palismans as he gorged on them both.

No one heard her. No one felt her.

She longed for an end, for death, to disappear, to stop feeling. Anything but this.

* * *

She felt the human girl long before she noticed her voice. So many emotions made her heart shudder, shaking the foundations of the palace.

For she had seen that same curiosity and quiet sadness, and now she paid the price for indulging him. Yet even so, hope had begun to sprout in her.

She spoke out, showed the human girl **Light.** How her heart ached at her delight, from nostalgia and grief alike.

As she continued to gaze upon the human girl- Luz Noceda- she began to notice the differences.

Uri had been surrounded by so many but now she saw how he held himself at arm’s length. He divulged trust sparingly.

Luz had few friends but kept them close to her heart. She trusted with her being.

Uri’s words had inspired many, but in a dark manner. Closing their hearts and minds to all but him.

Luz’s actions inspired hearts and minds to open to everything. To see what had not been seen before.

And as she spoke to Luz through **Ice** , through **Plant** , through **Fire** , her faith grew stronger.

Could Luz Noceda be the one to stop the monster Belos? She had given up hope of reaching Uri. He had not just closed himself off to her, but to all around him.

She prayed that she could. Part of her wished she had met Luz instead of Uri, but was glad that she had found a caretaker and friends that could support her.

* * *

She was the Titan. The Isles were her and she was the Isles.

And perhaps once this was over... she could be free.

**Author's Note:**

> So guess who dived headfirst into the Owl House Fandom?
> 
> I've been having a lot of theories on Belos ever since I saw him, but both the longest and strongest I've had is that Belos is human and came to the Boiling Isles similarly to Luz. 
> 
> And to those who figured out where the title comes from, you get a cookie. For those who guessed it's further significance, you get a second cookie.
> 
> Here are two pieces I've done that connect to this fic: 
> 
> https://miki-13.tumblr.com/post/627390860137496576/once-upon-a-time-i-was-able-to-hear-the-titans
> 
> https://miki-13.tumblr.com/post/627389113697484800/sepublic-fermented-writers-block


End file.
